December 9, 2025 • 32 mins
TrulySignificant.com presents the one and only Dan Ashley, ABC 7 anchor, in San Francisco as he debuts his fabulous Christmas single, Let It Ring.
As a vocalist, Dan has led his band for many years, headlining great venues while opening for groups such as REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Eddie Money, Patti LaBelle, Joan Jett and Melissa Etheridge.
He has covered John Glenn returning to space, Columbine High School tragedy and walked the Nazi death camps with survivors. Dan is a born storyteller attributing his success to how and where he was raced.
Hear Dan's tribute to his 92 year young Dad. He has given Dan so many pearls of wisdom including the recent wisdom about PROBLEMS. Remember this....if you have a problem that can be fixed with money, you don't have a problem.
On this particular episode, learn the answers to....
Buy Let It Ring and all other music from Dan Ashley on Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music and Amazon Music.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.
As a vocalist, Dan has led his band for many years, headlining great venues while opening for groups such as REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Eddie Money, Patti LaBelle, Joan Jett and Melissa Etheridge.
He has covered John Glenn returning to space, Columbine High School tragedy and walked the Nazi death camps with survivors. Dan is a born storyteller attributing his success to how and where he was raced.
Hear Dan's tribute to his 92 year young Dad. He has given Dan so many pearls of wisdom including the recent wisdom about PROBLEMS. Remember this....if you have a problem that can be fixed with money, you don't have a problem.
On this particular episode, learn the answers to....
- How did your early church and farm experiences shape not just your music, but your sense of purpose?
- How collaboration with Bill Bentley with his instruments, engineering, and mixing makes every song special?
Buy Let It Ring and all other music from Dan Ashley on Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music and Amazon Music.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Let It Bring, Let It Ring, Let the Children and
christ sing.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Christmas Time?
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Is he.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
That Magic Days?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Let it Ring, Let It Ring, Shady Joy the song
makes Christmas Day is almost him. Let it Bring one.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Boy, and welcome back to Truly Significant dot com Presents.
I'm Rick Tokeenny. This guest that we have on today
is I kid you not one of my favorites. It's
Dan Ashley. And Dan has written a song and produced
it with his friend Bill Bentley called let It Ring.
(01:00):
It's a joyful celebration of Christmas and the holidays. And
when you hear it people, and you'll hear it because
we're going to play it at for the outro of
the show. It's let it Ring, Let It Ring, Let
the children choire sing Christmas Time? Here that Magic Day
is near, Let it Ring. This song Dan touched us
(01:24):
in so many ways. It's so great to have you
back on the show, especially around Christmas time.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Welcome back, Well, thank you, Rick. It's so delightful to
be with you again. You're one of my favorite people
and I love being on the program. We have such
great conversations, such in depth conversations, and you're just such
a fun person to know. And I appreciate it so much,
and I'm so glad you like the song. I had
that song in my head for a couple of years,
(01:51):
and not all the lyrics, but most of the lyrics.
I had the melody in my head and I just
didn't get it finished until this year. I finally the
rest of it kind of came to me. And sometimes
you have to just incubate these things, as you well know,
until the right thing. You can force it and it
doesn't seem to work, but I just waited, and so
I'm so glad.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
You like it.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Yes, sir, we're gonna I'm going to unpack the rest
of the lyrics. But before we do that, even though
we've done a couple of shows together and I think
my audience knows you, how about reintroducing yourself and talking
about where you're from originally a course, and let's pay
(02:32):
homage to your dad inside that intro, And then I
want to talk about a recent poside adventure that you
had maybe people can learn some lessons from. So take
it away, mister Ashley, give us a long story.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
You bet well, Thank you, Reggy Well, it's great to
be on the program once again. And for those who
are watching me for the first time. I appreciated enormously.
My name is Dan Ashley. By my profession for the
past forty years, as I've been a television journalist, and
for the past thirty years, over thirty years now, I've
(03:09):
been the evening news anchor and a reporter for KGOTV.
That's the ABC seven owned and operated station in San Francisco,
owned and operated me owned and operated by the Walt
Disney Company, which owns the TV station as well as
ABC News and a number of other stations around the country.
It's been just the privilege of my life to serve
(03:29):
in that role. Because of my job on the air,
I have a unique place in the community with the
really special opportunities to be involved in the community, to
do things in the philanthropic world that have been very
meaningful to me. Over the years journalistically, I've had just
so many great experiences and even the experiences that have
(03:52):
been difficult, and there have been difficult experiences, whether it's
the Columbine tragedy that I flew out that night for
was therefore even the things that were difficult and painful
to cover, and that was certainly one of them, and
it's all been a privilege. It's been a personal and
professional growth opportunity and the chance to as you know, Rick,
(04:15):
when people sit down with you for these interviews and
trust you to tell their stories, it's kind of a
sacred trust, you know, And I always view that, whether
the story is positive or negative, or difficult or joyful,
when people trust you to tell their story, I take
that very seriously and it's a great privilege. So I've
(04:36):
been able to do that over the years. And there's
so many stories. We can talk about a couple if
you wish or not. But I've had some great opportunities.
I interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House. I
watched John Glenn return to space aboard the Shuttle. I
was walked Auschwitz and Bercanal, the death camps in Poland
(04:56):
with Holocaust survivors. Incredibly powerful experience. But in addition to
that role, I'm a professional musician and singer, and I
love to write, release music, and perform live with my
band and sometimes with just Bill, my musical partner and
guitarist Hourse, most recently with another guitarist who is very
(05:18):
well known in the music industry, and just as a
duo or with my full band. So it's you know,
I've had a full life in that respect and have
a lot of opportunities musically as well. I've got five
kids between my wife Angela and I, two of mine,
three of hers, all sons. One just got married a
couple of weeks ago. And so anyway, life is good.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
It is good for you. We love hearing your story
over and over again, and every time you tell it,
I learned something new and all every time you talk,
I think about, even though I did not know your
dad or his voice, I think about lessons from dads.
And You've got to share a nugget from your dad
(06:05):
this morning. And if you want to make it around
your own personal Poseidon adventure, go ahead.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Okay, you know my father. You know I'm very I'm
one of the most fortunate things in my life is
I'm so close with my family, my immediate I have
three siblings, a sister who lives here in California near me,
brother in Indiana, and another brother in Washington, DC area.
I'm the oldest. My father, blessing Is, will be ninety
(06:31):
two in January. And he's like you and I I mean,
he moves like a much younger man, his mind as
sharp as attack. He is a regular contributor to the
Baltimore Sun newspaper as a columnist guest columnist, and he's
got a great sense of humor. He was an educator,
university educator and university administrator for many years in public health.
(06:56):
And so he's ninety one now soon to be ninety two.
My mother died about eight years ago. We were all
very very close, the dad and his wife, he's been
married thirty five years. They live in the Baltimore area,
and he's just a unique guy and he's given me
lots of pros of wisdom over the years, and most
(07:17):
recently about ten days or so before Thanksgiving, the holidays
are a big deal around my house. Angela just loves
to decorate and host family and friends. And she's in
addition to being an attorney with her own business law practice,
she's literally a gourmet cook. I mean, her efforts in
(07:38):
the kitchen are just incredible. It all looks like a
ton of work for me, but she loves it's how
she expresses herself. So about ten or twelve days before Thanksgiving,
we were going to go out of town right after Thanksgiving,
so I was getting a jump on the holiday decorations
and I was up in the attic and I inadvertently
rick stepped on the fire sprinkler pipe. And if you've
(08:03):
we have sprinklers in the house, And if you've ever,
that's not a regular water pipe that would just leak.
This thing is a high pressure fire hose, is what
it is. And as soon as I stepped on it,
I knew it was bad. And you know, to see
a sixty two year old man come down those folding
(08:24):
stairs as fast as I did was pretty impressive. I
have to say, I don't even remember getting down those
things and flying and Angela, you know, shouting at me
what's wrong. I'm like, out of the way, out the way.
I ran down the staircase to outside, around the corner
of the house and shut off the water. Within maybe
(08:45):
a minute, I had the water shut off to the house.
It's the only way to stop it. Well, I did
all kinds of damage, I mean it it it within
ten minutes. Water was leaking out of light fixtures. We
had buckets everywhere. You know. It did a ton of
damage in just that short amount of time. And thank goodness,
(09:05):
I knew how to shut off the water. I mean,
had I not known how to do that, it would
have ruined the whole house. But so the entire kitchen
ceiling had to be removed and they found a little mold.
They got rid of that after a few days. The
entire entryway ceiling and most of the wall upstairs, it
was just a mess. And my wife was very sweet
(09:26):
about it. She said, well, we'll just cancel Thanksgiving, and
I said, no, I will fix this. I will get
it fixed. And I got guys in immediately to do
the clean up work and the restoration work, and then
the contractor fixed it. I told one of the guys.
They said, guys, look around lot. All these decorations, holidays
are super important to Angela. We've got to get this
(09:46):
finished in time. And they were incredibly sweet. They worked
really hard to get us back up and running. So
was it turned out well? But the funny story about
my dad, who always has great perspective and has a
very even manner, what happened. And he said, oh no, gosh,
that sounds terrible. And your listeners, viewers will not forget
(10:07):
this as I will not. And I have a pretty
good attitude about things. I'm a pretty positive person. But
he said this to me. He said, well, let me
just say this. It's a shame that happened, but you
can fix it. And he said, if you if you
have a problem that can be fixed with money, small
(10:27):
amount of money, or even a larger amount of money.
If you have a problem that can be fixed with money,
you don't have a problem. Isn't that so true? You know,
all the money in the world couldn't help Steve Jobs.
So if you've lost a child, or if you've had
some of the tragedy or something else that's happened, money
can't solve that. Fixing a soaked ceiling, that's not a
(10:49):
real problem, that's right, least to have a ceiling to fix,
you know. I mean a lot of people don't even
have that.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
So I've written it down.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Dad.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
If you hear this show, thank you for that. That
one's going to travel into Texas and beyond.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
It's good. I think it's really it's it's profound. It's
something to remember to put things in perspective in our lives.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Yeah, it's exactly right. Okay, now onward to these semi
philosophical questions. We are talking about a song. Let it ring.
But I think every time you write a song, pin
a song, there's something significant about So when you think
of the true significance, how does let it ring reflect
the kind of legacy that you want to leave through
(11:35):
your music.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Well, that's a great question, Rick, you know, I think music,
it's the cliche, but it's true. It's the international language.
We can all relate to all forms of music. So
some like some more than others. But music connects us.
Music to me is joyful, it's uplifting, it's inspiring, it's powerful,
(11:58):
it's moving. It can bring you to tears, it can
bring you to laugh. It just elevates us as a species,
you know. And all of all the things that we
do that the animal kingdom doesn't do, and there's plenty
of those things, music is certainly one of the most
interesting and one of the most powerful. And you know,
(12:20):
look at you if you can go on YouTube and
watch endless videos of animals responding to music, coming up
and sitting next to someone singing a song. I mean,
even the animal kingdom recognizes that there's something about music,
the frequency of it, that moves us. So I think
let it ring. I would say, it's to me music
is celebratory, and that if I can add any kind
(12:44):
of joy in anyone's life with my music, with a
song that they like that resonates with a boy, am
I happy about that?
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Yes, sir, you know that we've studied Johnny Mercer until
the hows come came home.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
It's incredible songwriter.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Incredible and you remind me in part of Johnny Mercer.
And I wonder how your early church and farm experiences
actually shape your music.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Yeah, that's another great question. I think they certainly informed
this song, because you know, Christmas was and is a
really wonderful time of year in my family and household.
In fact, my wife and I just watched the other
night before we left to come home from a trip.
We watched three or four Christmas movies back to back,
(13:38):
just as we were packing it, you know, just had
them on and just watched all these great movies. I think,
you know, I have great memories of singing in the
junior choir at church around Christmas time and those living
Nativity scenes, and I always remember the candlelight Christmas service
(13:59):
on Christmas Eve and with the entire congregation just passing
one flame to the next, and all holding candles and
there was something I didn't understand all the symbolism, but
it was just magical to me. It was just magical.
And it's such an whether you you know, And I
always say, you don't have to be a Christian to
(14:23):
celebrate Christmas and to enjoy the season for what it is.
I mean it really it's again it sounds sappy, but
it's so true. It is the season of giving, you know,
and of joy. And I think if you can capture that,
and if you can keep that in your heart to
some degree all year long, you're going to be a
(14:44):
happier person and make the world a happier place because
there's something innocent about that that time of year. And
so you know that I just find really special. And
I certainly and in all the songs I write, I'm
a storyteller as a journalist, and so I tried to
do that as a songwriter.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
It comes out beautifully. I think. Let's talk about Bill Bentley.
From my knowledge, he not only produced the track, but
he was playing instruments right.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
He is. He's a remarkable he's one of my closest friends,
and he's an incredible musician. He's a great producer, and
he can play a guitar like nobody I've ever seen,
and he plays bass, and he's a very skilled musician,
so he's playing on a lot of parts in that song.
And he sings like a bird too, so he sings
background too.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
So Dan, let's teach our audience early, share with our
audience about the art of true collaboration, and compliment Bill
in doing that, because I think it takes several hearts
to produce something as great as Let It Ring.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
It does. You know, Let It Ring would not exist
without Bill. I had a lyric in mind, and I
had this story and the lyric in mind, and a
melody for the chorus, but it's Bill that sets it
to music. Bill, But you know, and then I have
my input and discuss what I'd like to hear and
all of that. But he's the truly skilled musician that
(16:14):
brings it to life. And that's what Bill did in
that song and so many of the other songs that
I've done. He's a remarkably talented guy, incredibly intelligent, and,
like I said, one of my very best friends. We
have a really great time working together.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
I love that you've spent decades informing us as a
trusted news anchor while creating music. I wonder how these
two callings shape your sense of significance today.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Well, I think it really has been a privilege to
be on the air all of these years and be
able to be someone that viewers turn to from time
to time for information and for what I always hope
is a trusted source of news that is unbiased, you know,
(17:11):
and straightforward as I can possibly make it. I never
have an agenda ever when I report the news, other
than to try to be as truthful as I can
and report what I know and what we know and reflect,
you know, in my mind, the purest journalistic values. You know,
we try to be very honest brokers of information, and
(17:33):
so it's just been very humbling to be honest, you know.
It's it's one of those careers that is a bit
strange and different, and and I gives you a different
role in the community for which I'm deeply grateful. And
as a singer and as a performer, the same is true.
(17:53):
You know. It's always so touching when when people come
up to me in the street and go, hey, watch you,
you know, watch it, and I what a lattering thing,
you know, or when they invite me to host events
or m see something or making a parent somewhere, and
they what it says to me is they think, gosh,
wouldn't be nice if that guy from TV came to
our event, it would make it nicer. Well, how flattering
(18:15):
is that? So I'm always honored to do it if
I can. And the same thing is true as a
musician when I show up and people have come out
to see us sing these songs. Oh, you know what
a responsibility. You know. They've given up an evening or
an afternoon or whatever it is for you to entertain
them and try to move them in some way and
with your music. It's just an incredible privilege, you know.
(18:39):
And I feel in a good way on both both fronts,
on both of those occupations, the pressure in a good way,
the pressure to deliver, to measure up to their trust
or their interest in what you're doing.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
That's right. I can appreciate what you just said, especially
the fact that your storytelling there's not a beginning and
ending to it. In my little humble opinion, I think
you may be a better songwriter as a result of
being this storyteller for decades, and your lyrics reflect your
(19:22):
ability to kind of find the right rhythm and cadence
with us, not for you, but for us.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Oh well, thank you. That's very kind Rick. You know,
there's no question that my years of being a fact
finder and storyteller an observer, right, a lot of it
is an observer of things going on in our world
as a journalist has made a huge difference in my
ability to write lyrics and to tell stories through song.
(19:50):
I just I don't think I'd be very good at
it had I not had the experience as a reporter,
because I view songwriting through kind of the same blend.
And some of the songs I write are autobiographical and
many are not. Many are just observational, you know, discussing
other people I've witnessed or situations I've seen, so, you know,
(20:17):
the voice. I saw a great interview or thing with
Bruce Springsteen on his one man show. You know, he's
a great storyteller in his music, and as he said,
he said, you know, I never worked a day in
a factory, you know, or any of that stuff he goes.
But that's what I wrote about. He observed it, and
(20:39):
so not everything he write. But your impression is he's
writing everything he lived, and you know, a lot of
what I write I have lived, but some of it
is I've just observed. But the art of it and
the trick of it is to do it in such
an authentic way that it seems like your story too,
because then it becomes everyone's story and they can relate
(20:59):
to it.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
Yeah. Effectively, you've said that the Christmas holidays represent the
best of us, regardless of faith, and you just got
back from London. London is I'm sure beautiful at Christmas time.
If you were to write that first line of your
(21:23):
next song about that time in London at Christmas time,
what do you think would be in that phrase?
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Boy, that is a really brilliant question, and I should
write a song. I thought a lot about potential lyrics.
You know, I don't know the exact line, but I
would say that my impression was which I would try
to capture a song that. Let me back up the
first time I went to London, and I'll complete the
loop here. The first time I went to London many
(21:52):
years ago, I think I was maybe twenty with my father,
but we just spoke about he was on a business
trip and I went with him and went to London,
never been there, and what I loved about London back
then was that it was exactly as I expected it
(22:13):
to be, as I had imagined it to be, as
I had read about, as I had seen in film.
Sometimes you go someplace and it's different or disappointed in
some way, it's not what you expect. It was exactly
what I expected. We went for the week after Thanksgiving
to do a little shopping and just to relax after
a busy time and the Poseidon adventure at home, and
(22:36):
going back to that first impression I had heard that
it's beautiful there at Christmas, it not only didn't disappoint,
it exceeded my expectations. It was exactly as I thought
it might be, and then some just like it was
when I was twenty and went for the first time.
And I guess that first line would be something that
(22:56):
the city sparkled with the Christmas spirit and the holiday spirit.
And what's interesting about it is it sparkled rick in
a way that was very very modern and contemporary, but
at the same time very old and traditional. So I
(23:17):
think that first line would have to reflect something about
that notion that it it's everything you could have expected,
old and new.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
That's really good. That kind of verse, if it's well
shaped and engineered with the Roten music, could almost take
you back to Charles Dickens and the modern London.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
It could.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
I mean it literally could, because that's my impression. I mean,
there you are with the Houses of Parliament and all
these old buildings that are liberally hundreds of years old,
and yet there's modern cars and shopping and lights everywhere.
I mean it's literally, you know, the Christmas from Charles
(24:02):
Dickens and the Christmas from Love actually, or any modern movie,
you know, relatively modern movie. I mean, it's it's an
interesting intersection of those two worlds. So I have a recommendation.
When I got home last night from the news, I
finished watching a great holiday movie that I think people
(24:23):
will love that is now available on Prime. It was
a made for TV movie, probably forty years ago, and
I looked for it for years. I saw it once,
and I looked for for years and finally got it
on a CD or a CD of DVD maybe ten
years ago. Well now it's up screaming. It was starred
(24:44):
Henry Winkler, called an American Christmas Carol. Okay, and you know,
even watching I've got last Night twenty I got Tierry
watching it last night. Literally, I think it's on Prime.
It's in some ways it's my you can't compare it
to Charles Dickens version, but in some ways it's my
(25:06):
favorite telling of that story. It's different, but it's the same,
and it's it's there's to me. There's so much emotion
in this version that is very, very authentic. It's really good.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
Oh that's great, really good knowing that you and I
have spontaneous combustion when we talk to each other. I
saw Rental Family recently.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Oh that's great.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
Even though it has it doesn't appear at Christmas time
and it's not promoted as a holiday film, it is
so well done. It makes me think about the great
values that we have as families here in the United States,
and to see what's going on in Japan and then
contrast it with all of our blessings. I cried three times,
(25:58):
and it's like people were looking at me, going, what's
your problem? But I was just it hit me right
here with the central story. So that's that's my recommendation. Okay,
final question for you, because I know you're busy today,
what does your heart. Most want people to feel when
(26:18):
the last note phades of let it.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Ring gratitude and joy, to be to be alive, to
be healthy if you are fortunate to be healthy, to
have family and friends, just to appreciate simple pleasures in life.
And to me, the holiday season is one of those
(26:41):
simple pleasures in life that really is magical. It's not
about the gifts, it's not about it's not even about
the decorations. All that's lovely, but it's about the the
the warmth and the glow that the holiday season produces.
You know, even when it's busy and the malls are
(27:01):
packed and everything, there's people that were just a little
bit nicer to each other for a couple of weeks
and a little bit more patient with each other, and
there's If you can't feel that warmth, boy you're missing
a lot. Because this holiday season is very special in
that regard. It binds us in a very unique way.
And that, to me, that's the magic of this season.
(27:23):
It's you know, all the all the stuff around it,
the packages and the boxes and the trees and the garland.
All that is lovely, it's but it's window dressing for
what's really going on. Inside, which is just this sense
of it can be tranquility, joy, connection. That's why that's
(27:45):
why you know, holiday movies work every year. Christmas movies
work every year because they they tap into that our
inner child, our inner the reason you got Tierry watching
Branded Family. It taps into those sentiments that we all
have and I hope all, if you don't have it
readily available, can dig down there somewhere inside yourself and
(28:07):
find it because it's a wonderful part of the season.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Yes, sir, thank you Dan for being back on and
we're going to play this folks this coming weekend the show,
and we will also play it on Christmas Day. What
a great message. Thank you so much. I'm going to
challenge you to write the next Christmas song and make
sure you write it about London if a Christmas city
(28:34):
sparkled in modern and traditional ways, that's what I read now.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Thank you asking you were great.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
We know you're one of my favorites and we wish
you and your family very merry Christmas, and especially to
your great dad who's out there, who symbolically is my
dad too, because my dad's gone, but boy, there's some
great dads are out there, so let's see what can
we say one final get your licks in about calling
(29:02):
your dad up? How about that?
Speaker 3 (29:04):
You know what, especially this time of year, if you
haven't talked to your dad, or your mom, or your
siblings or anyone that's been important in your life, call
them up. You know this is a perfect reason to
do it during this time of year. And Rick, I
just adore you and just love being with you. We
have the best conversations and I appreciate it so much.
(29:24):
I hope everyone has a wonderful and happy holiday season.
Mary Christmas and.
Speaker 4 (29:30):
Merry Christmas to you. And as we always say, we
hope that you all enjoy that journey of success. But
put your eyes on significance, especially in twenty twenty six.
I have a good one.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Bravo, well said.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Ring.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Let it ring, Let the children in Choe sing. Christmas
time is here, that magic days.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Let it ring, Let it ring share the joy. The
song makes some naughts.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Christmas Day is almost hid, and let it ring.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
One more you schoolies is fallen light to swingling.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
I've got any england of what your thinking.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
It's time to have some fun.
Speaker 5 (30:41):
When Santa makes his com the trees.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
On the calm waiting for the star. Listun in the distance.
It sounds of lot like Christmas. Let agree day agree.
Speaker 5 (31:05):
Let the children it wus say, Christmas time is here.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
That magic days. Let it ring.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
They agree, share the joy that all makes him noise.
Christmas day is almost hand. Let it bring one more.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Let it adam joy, let it agree, Let agree, Let
the child read it Qi say.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Christmas time is here, that magic day is.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Let it break, let it great sheper joy. The s
all makes some nuts. Christmas day is almost hip. Let
it break one moi, then it rain.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Let it ray that the children it on is say,
Christmas time is here, that magic days.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Let it ray, shell it joy, Tom makes the nose.
Christmas day is almost hip. Let it rain one more
y
Let It Bring, Let It Ring, Let the Children and
christ sing.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Christmas Time?
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Is he.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
That Magic Days?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Let it Ring, Let It Ring, Shady Joy the song
makes Christmas Day is almost him. Let it Bring one.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Boy, and welcome back to Truly Significant dot com Presents.
I'm Rick Tokeenny. This guest that we have on today
is I kid you not one of my favorites. It's
Dan Ashley. And Dan has written a song and produced
it with his friend Bill Bentley called let It Ring.
(01:00):
It's a joyful celebration of Christmas and the holidays. And
when you hear it people, and you'll hear it because
we're going to play it at for the outro of
the show. It's let it Ring, Let It Ring, Let
the children choire sing Christmas Time? Here that Magic Day
is near, Let it Ring. This song Dan touched us
(01:24):
in so many ways. It's so great to have you
back on the show, especially around Christmas time.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Welcome back, Well, thank you, Rick. It's so delightful to
be with you again. You're one of my favorite people
and I love being on the program. We have such
great conversations, such in depth conversations, and you're just such
a fun person to know. And I appreciate it so much,
and I'm so glad you like the song. I had
that song in my head for a couple of years,
(01:51):
and not all the lyrics, but most of the lyrics.
I had the melody in my head and I just
didn't get it finished until this year. I finally the
rest of it kind of came to me. And sometimes
you have to just incubate these things, as you well know,
until the right thing. You can force it and it
doesn't seem to work, but I just waited, and so
I'm so glad.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
You like it.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Yes, sir, we're gonna I'm going to unpack the rest
of the lyrics. But before we do that, even though
we've done a couple of shows together and I think
my audience knows you, how about reintroducing yourself and talking
about where you're from originally a course, and let's pay
(02:32):
homage to your dad inside that intro, And then I
want to talk about a recent poside adventure that you
had maybe people can learn some lessons from. So take
it away, mister Ashley, give us a long story.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
You bet well, Thank you, Reggy Well, it's great to
be on the program once again. And for those who
are watching me for the first time. I appreciated enormously.
My name is Dan Ashley. By my profession for the
past forty years, as I've been a television journalist, and
for the past thirty years, over thirty years now, I've
(03:09):
been the evening news anchor and a reporter for KGOTV.
That's the ABC seven owned and operated station in San Francisco,
owned and operated me owned and operated by the Walt
Disney Company, which owns the TV station as well as
ABC News and a number of other stations around the country.
It's been just the privilege of my life to serve
(03:29):
in that role. Because of my job on the air,
I have a unique place in the community with the
really special opportunities to be involved in the community, to
do things in the philanthropic world that have been very
meaningful to me. Over the years journalistically, I've had just
so many great experiences and even the experiences that have
(03:52):
been difficult, and there have been difficult experiences, whether it's
the Columbine tragedy that I flew out that night for
was therefore even the things that were difficult and painful
to cover, and that was certainly one of them, and
it's all been a privilege. It's been a personal and
professional growth opportunity and the chance to as you know, Rick,
(04:15):
when people sit down with you for these interviews and
trust you to tell their stories, it's kind of a
sacred trust, you know, And I always view that, whether
the story is positive or negative, or difficult or joyful,
when people trust you to tell their story, I take
that very seriously and it's a great privilege. So I've
(04:36):
been able to do that over the years. And there's
so many stories. We can talk about a couple if
you wish or not. But I've had some great opportunities.
I interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House. I
watched John Glenn return to space aboard the Shuttle. I
was walked Auschwitz and Bercanal, the death camps in Poland
(04:56):
with Holocaust survivors. Incredibly powerful experience. But in addition to
that role, I'm a professional musician and singer, and I
love to write, release music, and perform live with my
band and sometimes with just Bill, my musical partner and
guitarist Hourse, most recently with another guitarist who is very
(05:18):
well known in the music industry, and just as a
duo or with my full band. So it's you know,
I've had a full life in that respect and have
a lot of opportunities musically as well. I've got five
kids between my wife Angela and I, two of mine,
three of hers, all sons. One just got married a
couple of weeks ago. And so anyway, life is good.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
It is good for you. We love hearing your story
over and over again, and every time you tell it,
I learned something new and all every time you talk,
I think about, even though I did not know your
dad or his voice, I think about lessons from dads.
And You've got to share a nugget from your dad
(06:05):
this morning. And if you want to make it around
your own personal Poseidon adventure, go ahead.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Okay, you know my father. You know I'm very I'm
one of the most fortunate things in my life is
I'm so close with my family, my immediate I have
three siblings, a sister who lives here in California near me,
brother in Indiana, and another brother in Washington, DC area.
I'm the oldest. My father, blessing Is, will be ninety
(06:31):
two in January. And he's like you and I I mean,
he moves like a much younger man, his mind as
sharp as attack. He is a regular contributor to the
Baltimore Sun newspaper as a columnist guest columnist, and he's
got a great sense of humor. He was an educator,
university educator and university administrator for many years in public health.
(06:56):
And so he's ninety one now soon to be ninety two.
My mother died about eight years ago. We were all
very very close, the dad and his wife, he's been
married thirty five years. They live in the Baltimore area,
and he's just a unique guy and he's given me
lots of pros of wisdom over the years, and most
(07:17):
recently about ten days or so before Thanksgiving, the holidays
are a big deal around my house. Angela just loves
to decorate and host family and friends. And she's in
addition to being an attorney with her own business law practice,
she's literally a gourmet cook. I mean, her efforts in
(07:38):
the kitchen are just incredible. It all looks like a
ton of work for me, but she loves it's how
she expresses herself. So about ten or twelve days before Thanksgiving,
we were going to go out of town right after Thanksgiving,
so I was getting a jump on the holiday decorations
and I was up in the attic and I inadvertently
rick stepped on the fire sprinkler pipe. And if you've
(08:03):
we have sprinklers in the house, And if you've ever,
that's not a regular water pipe that would just leak.
This thing is a high pressure fire hose, is what
it is. And as soon as I stepped on it,
I knew it was bad. And you know, to see
a sixty two year old man come down those folding
(08:24):
stairs as fast as I did was pretty impressive. I
have to say, I don't even remember getting down those
things and flying and Angela, you know, shouting at me
what's wrong. I'm like, out of the way, out the way.
I ran down the staircase to outside, around the corner
of the house and shut off the water. Within maybe
(08:45):
a minute, I had the water shut off to the house.
It's the only way to stop it. Well, I did
all kinds of damage, I mean it it it within
ten minutes. Water was leaking out of light fixtures. We
had buckets everywhere. You know. It did a ton of
damage in just that short amount of time. And thank goodness,
(09:05):
I knew how to shut off the water. I mean,
had I not known how to do that, it would
have ruined the whole house. But so the entire kitchen
ceiling had to be removed and they found a little mold.
They got rid of that after a few days. The
entire entryway ceiling and most of the wall upstairs, it
was just a mess. And my wife was very sweet
(09:26):
about it. She said, well, we'll just cancel Thanksgiving, and
I said, no, I will fix this. I will get
it fixed. And I got guys in immediately to do
the clean up work and the restoration work, and then
the contractor fixed it. I told one of the guys.
They said, guys, look around lot. All these decorations, holidays
are super important to Angela. We've got to get this
(09:46):
finished in time. And they were incredibly sweet. They worked
really hard to get us back up and running. So
was it turned out well? But the funny story about
my dad, who always has great perspective and has a
very even manner, what happened. And he said, oh no, gosh,
that sounds terrible. And your listeners, viewers will not forget
(10:07):
this as I will not. And I have a pretty
good attitude about things. I'm a pretty positive person. But
he said this to me. He said, well, let me
just say this. It's a shame that happened, but you
can fix it. And he said, if you if you
have a problem that can be fixed with money, small
(10:27):
amount of money, or even a larger amount of money.
If you have a problem that can be fixed with money,
you don't have a problem. Isn't that so true? You know,
all the money in the world couldn't help Steve Jobs.
So if you've lost a child, or if you've had
some of the tragedy or something else that's happened, money
can't solve that. Fixing a soaked ceiling, that's not a
(10:49):
real problem, that's right, least to have a ceiling to fix,
you know. I mean a lot of people don't even
have that.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
So I've written it down.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Dad.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
If you hear this show, thank you for that. That
one's going to travel into Texas and beyond.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
It's good. I think it's really it's it's profound. It's
something to remember to put things in perspective in our lives.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Yeah, it's exactly right. Okay, now onward to these semi
philosophical questions. We are talking about a song. Let it ring.
But I think every time you write a song, pin
a song, there's something significant about So when you think
of the true significance, how does let it ring reflect
the kind of legacy that you want to leave through
(11:35):
your music.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Well, that's a great question, Rick, you know, I think music,
it's the cliche, but it's true. It's the international language.
We can all relate to all forms of music. So
some like some more than others. But music connects us.
Music to me is joyful, it's uplifting, it's inspiring, it's powerful,
(11:58):
it's moving. It can bring you to tears, it can
bring you to laugh. It just elevates us as a species,
you know. And all of all the things that we
do that the animal kingdom doesn't do, and there's plenty
of those things, music is certainly one of the most
interesting and one of the most powerful. And you know,
(12:20):
look at you if you can go on YouTube and
watch endless videos of animals responding to music, coming up
and sitting next to someone singing a song. I mean,
even the animal kingdom recognizes that there's something about music,
the frequency of it, that moves us. So I think
let it ring. I would say, it's to me music
is celebratory, and that if I can add any kind
(12:44):
of joy in anyone's life with my music, with a
song that they like that resonates with a boy, am
I happy about that?
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Yes, sir, you know that we've studied Johnny Mercer until
the hows come came home.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
It's incredible songwriter.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Incredible and you remind me in part of Johnny Mercer.
And I wonder how your early church and farm experiences
actually shape your music.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Yeah, that's another great question. I think they certainly informed
this song, because you know, Christmas was and is a
really wonderful time of year in my family and household.
In fact, my wife and I just watched the other
night before we left to come home from a trip.
We watched three or four Christmas movies back to back,
(13:38):
just as we were packing it, you know, just had
them on and just watched all these great movies. I think,
you know, I have great memories of singing in the
junior choir at church around Christmas time and those living
Nativity scenes, and I always remember the candlelight Christmas service
(13:59):
on Christmas Eve and with the entire congregation just passing
one flame to the next, and all holding candles and
there was something I didn't understand all the symbolism, but
it was just magical to me. It was just magical.
And it's such an whether you you know, And I
always say, you don't have to be a Christian to
(14:23):
celebrate Christmas and to enjoy the season for what it is.
I mean it really it's again it sounds sappy, but
it's so true. It is the season of giving, you know,
and of joy. And I think if you can capture that,
and if you can keep that in your heart to
some degree all year long, you're going to be a
(14:44):
happier person and make the world a happier place because
there's something innocent about that that time of year. And
so you know that I just find really special. And
I certainly and in all the songs I write, I'm
a storyteller as a journalist, and so I tried to
do that as a songwriter.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
It comes out beautifully. I think. Let's talk about Bill Bentley.
From my knowledge, he not only produced the track, but
he was playing instruments right.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
He is. He's a remarkable he's one of my closest friends,
and he's an incredible musician. He's a great producer, and
he can play a guitar like nobody I've ever seen,
and he plays bass, and he's a very skilled musician,
so he's playing on a lot of parts in that song.
And he sings like a bird too, so he sings
background too.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
So Dan, let's teach our audience early, share with our
audience about the art of true collaboration, and compliment Bill
in doing that, because I think it takes several hearts
to produce something as great as Let It Ring.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
It does. You know, Let It Ring would not exist
without Bill. I had a lyric in mind, and I
had this story and the lyric in mind, and a
melody for the chorus, but it's Bill that sets it
to music. Bill, But you know, and then I have
my input and discuss what I'd like to hear and
all of that. But he's the truly skilled musician that
(16:14):
brings it to life. And that's what Bill did in
that song and so many of the other songs that
I've done. He's a remarkably talented guy, incredibly intelligent, and,
like I said, one of my very best friends. We
have a really great time working together.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
I love that you've spent decades informing us as a
trusted news anchor while creating music. I wonder how these
two callings shape your sense of significance today.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Well, I think it really has been a privilege to
be on the air all of these years and be
able to be someone that viewers turn to from time
to time for information and for what I always hope
is a trusted source of news that is unbiased, you know,
(17:11):
and straightforward as I can possibly make it. I never
have an agenda ever when I report the news, other
than to try to be as truthful as I can
and report what I know and what we know and reflect,
you know, in my mind, the purest journalistic values. You know,
we try to be very honest brokers of information, and
(17:33):
so it's just been very humbling to be honest, you know.
It's it's one of those careers that is a bit
strange and different, and and I gives you a different
role in the community for which I'm deeply grateful. And
as a singer and as a performer, the same is true.
(17:53):
You know. It's always so touching when when people come
up to me in the street and go, hey, watch you,
you know, watch it, and I what a lattering thing,
you know, or when they invite me to host events
or m see something or making a parent somewhere, and
they what it says to me is they think, gosh,
wouldn't be nice if that guy from TV came to
our event, it would make it nicer. Well, how flattering
(18:15):
is that? So I'm always honored to do it if
I can. And the same thing is true as a
musician when I show up and people have come out
to see us sing these songs. Oh, you know what
a responsibility. You know. They've given up an evening or
an afternoon or whatever it is for you to entertain
them and try to move them in some way and
with your music. It's just an incredible privilege, you know.
(18:39):
And I feel in a good way on both both fronts,
on both of those occupations, the pressure in a good way,
the pressure to deliver, to measure up to their trust
or their interest in what you're doing.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
That's right. I can appreciate what you just said, especially
the fact that your storytelling there's not a beginning and
ending to it. In my little humble opinion, I think
you may be a better songwriter as a result of
being this storyteller for decades, and your lyrics reflect your
(19:22):
ability to kind of find the right rhythm and cadence
with us, not for you, but for us.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Oh well, thank you. That's very kind Rick. You know,
there's no question that my years of being a fact
finder and storyteller an observer, right, a lot of it
is an observer of things going on in our world
as a journalist has made a huge difference in my
ability to write lyrics and to tell stories through song.
(19:50):
I just I don't think I'd be very good at
it had I not had the experience as a reporter,
because I view songwriting through kind of the same blend.
And some of the songs I write are autobiographical and
many are not. Many are just observational, you know, discussing
other people I've witnessed or situations I've seen, so, you know,
(20:17):
the voice. I saw a great interview or thing with
Bruce Springsteen on his one man show. You know, he's
a great storyteller in his music, and as he said,
he said, you know, I never worked a day in
a factory, you know, or any of that stuff he goes.
But that's what I wrote about. He observed it, and
(20:39):
so not everything he write. But your impression is he's
writing everything he lived, and you know, a lot of
what I write I have lived, but some of it
is I've just observed. But the art of it and
the trick of it is to do it in such
an authentic way that it seems like your story too,
because then it becomes everyone's story and they can relate
(20:59):
to it.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
Yeah. Effectively, you've said that the Christmas holidays represent the
best of us, regardless of faith, and you just got
back from London. London is I'm sure beautiful at Christmas time.
If you were to write that first line of your
(21:23):
next song about that time in London at Christmas time,
what do you think would be in that phrase?
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Boy, that is a really brilliant question, and I should
write a song. I thought a lot about potential lyrics.
You know, I don't know the exact line, but I
would say that my impression was which I would try
to capture a song that. Let me back up the
first time I went to London, and I'll complete the
loop here. The first time I went to London many
(21:52):
years ago, I think I was maybe twenty with my father,
but we just spoke about he was on a business
trip and I went with him and went to London,
never been there, and what I loved about London back
then was that it was exactly as I expected it
(22:13):
to be, as I had imagined it to be, as
I had read about, as I had seen in film.
Sometimes you go someplace and it's different or disappointed in
some way, it's not what you expect. It was exactly
what I expected. We went for the week after Thanksgiving
to do a little shopping and just to relax after
a busy time and the Poseidon adventure at home, and
(22:36):
going back to that first impression I had heard that
it's beautiful there at Christmas, it not only didn't disappoint,
it exceeded my expectations. It was exactly as I thought
it might be, and then some just like it was
when I was twenty and went for the first time.
And I guess that first line would be something that
(22:56):
the city sparkled with the Christmas spirit and the holiday spirit.
And what's interesting about it is it sparkled rick in
a way that was very very modern and contemporary, but
at the same time very old and traditional. So I
(23:17):
think that first line would have to reflect something about
that notion that it it's everything you could have expected,
old and new.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
That's really good. That kind of verse, if it's well
shaped and engineered with the Roten music, could almost take
you back to Charles Dickens and the modern London.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
It could.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
I mean it literally could, because that's my impression. I mean,
there you are with the Houses of Parliament and all
these old buildings that are liberally hundreds of years old,
and yet there's modern cars and shopping and lights everywhere.
I mean it's literally, you know, the Christmas from Charles
(24:02):
Dickens and the Christmas from Love actually, or any modern movie,
you know, relatively modern movie. I mean, it's it's an
interesting intersection of those two worlds. So I have a recommendation.
When I got home last night from the news, I
finished watching a great holiday movie that I think people
(24:23):
will love that is now available on Prime. It was
a made for TV movie, probably forty years ago, and
I looked for it for years. I saw it once,
and I looked for for years and finally got it
on a CD or a CD of DVD maybe ten
years ago. Well now it's up screaming. It was starred
(24:44):
Henry Winkler, called an American Christmas Carol. Okay, and you know,
even watching I've got last Night twenty I got Tierry
watching it last night. Literally, I think it's on Prime.
It's in some ways it's my you can't compare it
to Charles Dickens version, but in some ways it's my
(25:06):
favorite telling of that story. It's different, but it's the same,
and it's it's there's to me. There's so much emotion
in this version that is very, very authentic. It's really good.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
Oh that's great, really good knowing that you and I
have spontaneous combustion when we talk to each other. I
saw Rental Family recently.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Oh that's great.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
Even though it has it doesn't appear at Christmas time
and it's not promoted as a holiday film, it is
so well done. It makes me think about the great
values that we have as families here in the United States,
and to see what's going on in Japan and then
contrast it with all of our blessings. I cried three times,
(25:58):
and it's like people were looking at me, going, what's
your problem? But I was just it hit me right
here with the central story. So that's that's my recommendation. Okay,
final question for you, because I know you're busy today,
what does your heart. Most want people to feel when
(26:18):
the last note phades of let it.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Ring gratitude and joy, to be to be alive, to
be healthy if you are fortunate to be healthy, to
have family and friends, just to appreciate simple pleasures in life.
And to me, the holiday season is one of those
(26:41):
simple pleasures in life that really is magical. It's not
about the gifts, it's not about it's not even about
the decorations. All that's lovely, but it's about the the
the warmth and the glow that the holiday season produces.
You know, even when it's busy and the malls are
(27:01):
packed and everything, there's people that were just a little
bit nicer to each other for a couple of weeks
and a little bit more patient with each other, and
there's If you can't feel that warmth, boy you're missing
a lot. Because this holiday season is very special in
that regard. It binds us in a very unique way.
And that, to me, that's the magic of this season.
(27:23):
It's you know, all the all the stuff around it,
the packages and the boxes and the trees and the garland.
All that is lovely, it's but it's window dressing for
what's really going on. Inside, which is just this sense
of it can be tranquility, joy, connection. That's why that's
(27:45):
why you know, holiday movies work every year. Christmas movies
work every year because they they tap into that our
inner child, our inner the reason you got Tierry watching
Branded Family. It taps into those sentiments that we all
have and I hope all, if you don't have it
readily available, can dig down there somewhere inside yourself and
(28:07):
find it because it's a wonderful part of the season.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Yes, sir, thank you Dan for being back on and
we're going to play this folks this coming weekend the show,
and we will also play it on Christmas Day. What
a great message. Thank you so much. I'm going to
challenge you to write the next Christmas song and make
sure you write it about London if a Christmas city
(28:34):
sparkled in modern and traditional ways, that's what I read now.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Thank you asking you were great.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
We know you're one of my favorites and we wish
you and your family very merry Christmas, and especially to
your great dad who's out there, who symbolically is my
dad too, because my dad's gone, but boy, there's some
great dads are out there, so let's see what can
we say one final get your licks in about calling
(29:02):
your dad up? How about that?
Speaker 3 (29:04):
You know what, especially this time of year, if you
haven't talked to your dad, or your mom, or your
siblings or anyone that's been important in your life, call
them up. You know this is a perfect reason to
do it during this time of year. And Rick, I
just adore you and just love being with you. We
have the best conversations and I appreciate it so much.
(29:24):
I hope everyone has a wonderful and happy holiday season.
Mary Christmas and.
Speaker 4 (29:30):
Merry Christmas to you. And as we always say, we
hope that you all enjoy that journey of success. But
put your eyes on significance, especially in twenty twenty six.
I have a good one.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Bravo, well said.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Ring.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Let it ring, Let the children in Choe sing. Christmas
time is here, that magic days.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Let it ring, Let it ring share the joy. The
song makes some naughts.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Christmas Day is almost hid, and let it ring.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
One more you schoolies is fallen light to swingling.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
I've got any england of what your thinking.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
It's time to have some fun.
Speaker 5 (30:41):
When Santa makes his com the trees.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
On the calm waiting for the star. Listun in the distance.
It sounds of lot like Christmas. Let agree day agree.
Speaker 5 (31:05):
Let the children it wus say, Christmas time is here.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
That magic days. Let it ring.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
They agree, share the joy that all makes him noise.
Christmas day is almost hand. Let it bring one more.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Let it adam joy, let it agree, Let agree, Let
the child read it Qi say.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Christmas time is here, that magic day is.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Let it break, let it great sheper joy. The s
all makes some nuts. Christmas day is almost hip. Let
it break one moi, then it rain.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Let it ray that the children it on is say,
Christmas time is here, that magic days.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Let it ray, shell it joy, Tom makes the nose.
Christmas day is almost hip. Let it rain one more
y
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